Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to a telemetry operated expandable liner system.
Description of the Related Art
A wellbore is formed to access hydrocarbon-bearing formations by the use of drilling. Drilling is accomplished by utilizing a drill bit that is mounted on the end of a drill string. To drill within the wellbore to a predetermined depth, the drill string is often rotated by a top drive or rotary table on a surface platform or rig or by a downhole motor mounted towards the lower end of the drill string. After drilling a first section of the wellbore to a first depth, the drill string and drill bit are removed and a section of casing is lowered into the wellbore. The casing string is hung from the wellhead. A cementing operation is then conducted in order to fill an annulus between the casing string and the wellbore. The combination of cement and casing strengthens the wellbore and facilitates the isolation of certain areas of the formation behind the casing for the production of hydrocarbons.
It is common to employ more than one string of casing or liner in a wellbore. After cementing of the casing string, a second section of the wellbore is drilled to a second depth, and a second string of casing or liner, is run into the drilled out portion of the wellbore. If the second string is liner, the liner string is hung from a lower portion of the casing string and cemented into place. If the second string is casing, the second string is hung from the wellhead and cemented into place. This process is typically repeated with additional strings until the wellbore has been drilled to total depth. As more casing or liner strings are set in the wellbore, the casing or liner strings become progressively smaller in diameter in order to fit within the previous casing or liner string.
Decreasing the diameter of the well produces undesirable consequences, such as limiting the size of wellbore tools which are capable of being run into the wellbore and/or limiting the volume of hydrocarbon production fluids which may flow to the surface from the formation. In order to mitigate issues caused by an undesirable decrease in diameter, the second section of the wellbore may be drilled and reamed to the same diameter of the first section and then an expandable liner string may be run in, cemented, and expanded into the second wellbore section. The liner string may be expanded by driving a cone therethrough. Once expansion of the liner string is complete, it is necessary to retrieve the cone from the wellbore. Retrieval of the cone through the first casing string may cause damage thereto.